Most television viewers receive their television programming through a cable, direct broadcast satellite (DBS), IPTV or similar subscription-based service. To that end, television service is usually broadcast from a cable, DBS or other content aggregator to multiple subscribers. The subscribers may then view received content as live broadcasts, and/or may store the content on digital video recorders (DVRs) or the like for later viewing. Some viewers may also placeshift received content from their homes or other access points to mobile phones, tablets or other devices for remote viewing.
One challenge that arises frequently is that that weather and other localized factors can affect reception of television broadcasts. DBS antennas, in particular, can perform poorly if dust, snow, ice or other environmental effects are allowed to accumulate. DBS subscribers will, for example, often experience service interruptions during stormy weather as accumulations of snow, dust or the like block the antenna's proper reception of broadcast signals. These interruptions may continue until the subscriber physically clears the obstructions from the antenna. While these interruptions are usually not difficult to repair, they can be annoying, particularly when they cause outages in the middle of a sporting match or other live program that is of interest to the viewer.
It is therefore desirable to reduce the effects of temporary outages in DBS, cable or other broadcast television service. Various desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background section.